When it comes to product placement, Super 8's very name, like Gran Torino or Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, is itself a product. In 1965, Eastman Kodak created the video format that would come to dominate amateur movies for a decade. Even though Kodachrome itself has been discontinued, Super 8 formatted film is still widely made, if not widely available. 

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Super 8 is billed as a homage to Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment films of the 1980s. In plot, scope and feel, that's certainly the case. Even when it comes to product placement, Super 8 tips its hat to Spielberg's legacy.Continue reading...

Many see the 2010 Academy Awards best film field as groundbreaking because the number of nominees has been increased from five to ten. There is however another way this year's nominee field is groundbreaking; for the first time, product placement plays an important role in a number of the best picture contenders. Continue reading...

Avatar's 3D technology is being credited for revolutionizing the way we watch movies. Its success has been followed by a flurry of announcements about blockbusters-to-be in 3D. While Avatar certainly revolutionized the way we watch movies, might it also revolutionize the way we place products?

For years now the product placement practice has been booming. Once generally considered a loose agreement between brands and prop managers, it is now an established business. A-list director Brett Ratner shamelessly boasts about his ambitions to help brands get scene-stealing placements. Even audiences have come to expect them and the term "product placement" is a household word. However, 3D technology poses incredible threats and opportunities for the advertising practice. Continue reading...